SPECIFICATION ENFORCEMENT AFFECTS YOU
Traci Hanegan, P.E.,LEED®AP, HFDP
Coffman Engineers, Inc.
Below is a blended summary of responses from the chapters to some of the questions discussed during the presentation.
Why is spec enforcement so good?
-There is a legal basis for doing so. Above board.
-Reduces liability on engineer
-Life safety
-Owner gets what they paid for
-Improves quality of future contracts
-Contractors are comparing apples to apples
-Equipment verification
-Fair to vendors/reps
-Helps contractor in scheduling their work with other trades
-Confidence that other contractors are held to the same standard
-Less worry when bidding that the competition will get away with providing less
-Contractor knows what to expect – no guessing about what the engineer will or will not enforce
-In the long run this will result in smaller punchlist reports by architects and engineers. Over time, contractors realize that everything is enforced and will have to eventually be fixed, so they are more likely to do it right the first time.
-Keeps quality contractors profitable and in business
-Fewer call backs for operational problems. Keeps Owner happy.
-Bids are tighter, which makes the design team look better.
-The system is more likely to work
-Provides owner’s project requirements – meets design intent
-Prevents poor workmanship
-Energy efficiency designed for is what you get
-Indoor air quality designed for is what you get
-Comfort designed for is what you get
-Preserves engineer’s reputation
-Avoid re-engineering
-Avoid problems with operations and maintenance
-Projects go smooth – on time, budget, operation for everyone.
-Lower blood pressure.
-Validates the reason for having specs
-Good enforcement can mean future work for consultant
-Avoid future expense
-Quality control
-More profit for engineers – sets precedent and punchlists are smaller
What are the problems if we don’t enforce the specs?
-Comes back to bite the engineer
-Future projects are worse
-Why bother to write them if you don’t enforce them?
-Designer’s reputation suffers
-System may not work, performance headaches
-Possible early system failure or shorter building life
-Things may not fit
-May get a system that uses more energy than planned
-Increased liability
-Increased arguments
-Lose contractor and vendor support in the future
-It’s a race to the bottom
-Engineer loses credibility
-Owner doesn’t know what they are getting - Unknown end
-Unprofessional
-Increased workload in long run
-Unhappy owner
-Leaves trouble for architect
-Can be unsafe
-Contractor will cut every corner. You get junk
-Increased operating expenses
-Corrosion problems
-Loss of pride
-Lose good people and encourage bad
-Warranty problems
-Pipes may freeze
If enforcement is so good, why do we sometimes fail to enforce? What are the challenges to good spec enforcement?
-The sheer quantity/breadth/depth of specs to produce
-So much boilerplate
-Proprietary or confusing manufacturer info
-Time and schedule for the project is too short – not realistic
-Trying to avoid confrontation
-I like the rep – don’t want to make them upset
-Owner wants job finished on time more than they want it done right
-Unrealistic owner expectations – time, fee, scope
-Time and fee allowed for site observations gets cut
-Owner won’t back you anyway
-Lack of good communication.
-Contractor pressure
-Owner pressure and lack of support of design team
-Owner has different goals
-Owner caves in to contractor’s pleadings, asks engineer to stop looking
-Where do you draw the line – picky
-Contractor looks at drawings at last minute
-Engineer gets contractor question after last addendum
-Too much detail to manage
-Hard to get access to see some equipment. Things get covered up too soon (ceiling tiles in too early).
-Owner pays contractor too soon – no holdback
-Market pressure
-Owner doesn’t have a realistic contingency
-Too much complacency
-Codes and standards change so fast
-Manufacturer changes to products – hard to keep on top of
-Everyone is busy fighting for space
-City inspectors have different interpretations. Can be a big problem for contractor if the inspector is unreasonable or has too much pride.
-Lack of spec writing education for engineers.
-Inexperienced engineers editing specs
-Inexperienced superintendends
-Site visits are substituted for commissioning
-Engineer doesn’t want to be questioned by the rep or the contractor. Not open to suggestion.
-More back-checking means less profit on a lump sum job.
-Pointing out problems that cost the contractor can cause them to be more aggressive about change orders for the rest of the project. They may be more likely to cause trouble.
-Equipment delivery times
Where are some opportunities for improvement or for overcoming challenges?
-Attend ASHRAE meetings – get to know others in industry, develop relationships, find resources for asking questions, learn standard of care in industry.
-If you have to backcheck more than twice, the contractor pays for your time
-Be serious about it
-Take pictures to illustrate deficiencies – better communicates it to the owner and is clearer to the contractor about what you mean. Good documentation for future.
-Share spec with reps before bid and get feedback. Architects need to schedule time for this and -Owners need to agree, knowing the value. Do this early. Trust reps and work with them – they are knowledgeable about the product
-Develop a system in each consulting firm for updating specs for all projects (master specs) to keep them current.
-Don’t use outdated specs.
-Talk to the Owner and architect at the start of the project about the need for good enforcement. Get their buy-in.
-Write a performance spec, to avoid proprietary issues
-Avoid catch-all phrases.
-Ask competing vendor, co-worker, or ASHRAE member for advice on spec issues
-Prequalify contractors
-Submit a site observation log to the architect (to share with contractor and owner) so everyone knows when you plan on visiting, what you’ll be looking at, and what shouldn’t be done yet (i.e. no insulation on ducts before the duct construction is observed).
-Take pictures of problems and include in site observation reports. Helps Owner and architect appreciate and understand the problems.
-Be open and receptive to early comments.
-Extend the time to tender bids – make it reasonable.
-Build a mock-up of part of the project.
-Get a second opinion on your site visits. Take another engineer from your office, let them go in your place, or review their reports from other jobs. Get out of the rut of writing up the same things and forgetting about other issues.
-Conduct a mandatory pre-bid meeting. Point out the fact that you intend to enforce specs, so it gets in the meeting minutes and is clear to everyone. Note unique spec items and the site observation schedule.
-Fight for the fee to do site observations. Use the log that lists what will be observed at each visit – ask the owner “which visit do you want me to take out in order to reduce my fee?”
-Put an hourly rate for site observations, or a lump sum charge for every extra site observation visit, on your original fee proposal. Then it’s easy to show how much the extra visit will cost, including visits for excessive back-checking.
-Admit errors when you make them.
-Define the project scope better. Do a narrative.
-Have a pre-construction meeting, just after the bid. Highlight submittal requirements. Re-emphasize spec enforcement.
-Have a pre-installation meeting with the contractors that will actually be doing the installation. -Review the submittals and spec with them and let them ask questions.
-Require the sub and general contractors to sign-off on each punchlist item and send it to you before you make a trip to backpunch.
-Make some site observations early in the project. Early detection of problems is better for everyone in the long run.
-When troubles arise – be fair and ethical. Ask other engineers (even your competition) on how to handle certain issues. They can give an unbiased opinion or share a past experience.
-Be open to suggestions for improvement on your specs and designs. Suggestions may come from contractors, reps, and other engineers. You can still learn something new about a design that is similar to 20 you have done before.
-Contractors – get submittals in early
-Design team – review submittals fast
-Require contractors to submit on everything, even if it is “per spec”, so that you have a dialogue/communication about what is expected and intended. This reduces misunderstandings and strengthens the engineer’s position if there is a deficiency noted.
-Engineer – ask to see pay applications. Don’t approve payment of items that have been installed incorrectly or not at all.
-See if things fit
-Question the low bid
-Don’t over specify
-Avoid horsetrading – illegitimate. Process credits and changes separately and document – no deals between engineer and contractor without architect and owner knowledge.
-Get the general contractor to move the ladder for you when you do a site observation back-check. Then they see first hand how many items were not fixed correctly and feel your pain and time spent. This motivates them to keep their subs in line.
